It’s almost unfair that the team with the best record in the NBA only got stronger. The Golden State Warriors welcomed back Klay Thompson over the weekend after two years on the shelf with knee and Achilles injuries. If there was any thought that his return would disrupt what the Warriors have going on it didn’t. Besides, why would you not welcome back one of the top scorers in the game? Klay dropped 17 in his return and the Warriors stopped a two-game losing streak by beating Cleveland. In the middle of a four-game road trip the Dubs take on the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks Thursday in the first game of a TNT doubleheader.
The contest between the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 13, 2022, from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI and will air live on TNT. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Thursday NBA schedule.
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Odds Analysis
We got the feeling the Warriors were just like everyone else in the NBA when they lost consecutive games for the first time. Heck, even the greats have an off game every now and then and Dallas took advantage of the cold shooting Steph Curry to hand Golden State a 99-82 setback. Curry and Draymond Green sat the next night and the Warriors were dealt a 101-96 setback by New Orleans extending their ATS slide to three straight. It was a magical night on Sunday with the return of Thompson and Curry snapping out of a shooting slump. The Warriors covered the 6.5-point line but failed to score 100 points in a third straight game with the UNDER cashing in all three. The Warriors are one of the more profitable teams in the Association improving to 30-9 SU and 23-14-2 ATS with their payout win over the Cavs.
The Bucks are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference but they’ve been inconsistent all season. They had a slow start going 6-8 through the first 14 games before winning eight in a row. They had a six-game winning streak recently until that was ended by Detroit, the worst team in the league. That started a stretch where the Bucks lost three of four with a setback to Charlotte on Saturday. They were 1-3 ATS in that stretch. The Bucks have been a good home team the last three seasons but they’ve struggled by their standards this campaign. They dropped their last two and are just 13-7 SU and 7-13 ATS on their home floor.
Golden State Warriors
Curry made a case for league MVP last week when the Warriors struggled without him. Oh, he played against Dallas but had one of his worst shooting games to date going just 5 of 24 from the field for 14 points. He sat out the next game in New Orleans and the Warriors were beaten again. You don’t often see Curry mired in a shooting slump but he was only 6 of 30 on three-point shots during a three-game stretch that ended against Cleveland.
With Curry having difficulties shooting the offense faltered. The Warriors had their worst offensive performance against the Mavs and went three straight games without scoring 100 points. Curry returning after missing a game and Thompson back on the floor after two years couldn’t get the Dubs to 100. But they did get a win with Klay going for 17. The defense has kept them atop the standings. The Warriors lead the NBA in fewest points allowed while holding opponents to 42.5 percent shooting. The UNDER is 25-13.
Milwaukee Bucks
As much as you’d like to think Giannis Antetokounmpo can do it all by himself, he really can’t. with Jrue Holiday, Pat Connaughton, George Hill and Grayson Allen all sent to COVID protocols for their game with Charlotte, the Bucks lost for the third time in four outings, 114-106. Giannis had 43 points and 12 boards and Khris Middleton added 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Bobby Portis had 19 points, but the rest of the team was just 6 of 36 from the field and scored 17 points.
The Bucks are a better team when everybody chips in and there’s a good chance some of the COVID players are back before Thursday’s tip. They’ve been good offensively averaging over 112 points and they rank among the top-10 in three-point shooting. However, that’s another area that’s been inconsistent. When the Bucks score they usually win. During their recent six-game winning streak they averaged 124 points. They failed to score more than 111 points in their three most recent losses.
NBA Odds Pick
We should see Thompson back to being his old self after having a few games under his belt. And he’ll take a big scoring load off Curry making the Warriors even more dynamic. This should be a special game between two of the league’s best and I expect there will be some offensive fireworks leading me to back the OVER.
NBA Odds Prediction: Bucks 115, Warriors 111
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